CARPE VERBUM

Since the normal feast day fell on Good Friday, today we have the great gift of celebrating the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Due to this feast, today we'll read the Gospel instead of our normal Acts of the Apostles.

Step #1: Lectio / Read

The angel Gabriel was sent from Godto a town of Galilee called Nazareth,to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,of the house of David,and the virgin’s name was Mary.And coming to her, he said,“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”But she was greatly troubled at what was saidand pondered what sort of greeting this might be.Then the angel said to her,“Do not be afraid, Mary,for you have found favor with God.Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,and you shall name him Jesus.He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”But Mary said to the angel,“How can this be,since I have no relations with a man?”And the angel said to her in reply,“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.Therefore the child to be bornwill be called holy, the Son of God.And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,has also conceived a son in her old age,and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;for nothing will be impossible for God.”Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.May it be done to me according to your word.”Then the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:26-38

Step #2: Meditatio / meditate

This past year I celebrated my golden birthday. In honor of it, I got to go out to Hibachi, which is, without a doubt, one of the greatest types of food you can eat to celebrate. Delicious meat, cooked in front of you, and served while you sit around a table with your greatest friends, or, in this case, with complete strangers. Afterwards, I returned home only to find out that my wife had actually assembled all of my greatest friends to come and surprise me and have a celebration in my honor on this day.

Have you ever been totally surprised? Have you ever had something great, something awesome and really exciting, catch you so off guard that you actually had to think about how you were supposed to respond past the initial shock you felt?

Surprises can be exciting, but sometimes they can be overwhelming, too. Imagine how Mary felt in that moment; she was young, engaged to be married, doing her best to serve the Lord in her life, when all of the sudden an angel approaches her. This angel is huge and intimidating, and comes to her telling her that God has plans for her to bear His only Son and bring Him into the world to bring about the salvation of the world.

Mary, in one of the most pivotal moments in human history (in fact, you could argue it was the most pivotal, at least until that moment), gives her 'yes' to the angel, stating that she is the 'handmaid of the Lord.'

According to quick google search, Webster says that a handmaid is someone "whose essential function is to serve or assist." In short, Mary's response was that, despite what doubts she may have had about her worthiness or why this was happening, she knew that her role was to serve the Lord in whatever way He asked her to.

How many times have we been asked by God in one way or another to be His servant, but our own self-worth made us want to have more control, instead? Are we willing to be the Lord's handmaid, following Mary's example and trusting that the plans God has are far greater than any we could come up with ourselves?

Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Annunciation, whose 'yes' brought about the salvation of the world...pray for us!

Step #3: oratio / pray

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.May it be done to me according to your word.”

How in my life is God asking me to serve Him more than I do already?

What hold me back from completely saying 'yes' to God in my life? Are there people who I surround myself with? Am I too focused on my own plans?

Do I rely fully on the intercession of the Blessed Mother to show me how to fully follow her Son?

step #4: Contemplatio / contemplate

Jesus, I am your handmaid.

Lord God, I am willing to do whatever you ask of me.

​Blessed Mother, help me follow your Son.

For the rest of your day...

Be the Lord's handmaid; whether it is in big or small ways, choose to serve Him.